Better than expected

[IRLangmaid25]

Inspired by the thread of fights here on British soil which stank the joint out. What have been the fights which have occurred on this green and pleasant land of ours which have proved to be better than hoped/feared depending on your outlook.

[Stuarty]

I thought Whyte v Chisora would be an absolute stinker but I enjoyed every minute of it so I was wrong on that one.

I feared the worst for Froch before the Bute fight but he was outstanding and pummelled Bute about the ring in one of his best career performances.

[littlepug]

Benn v Mcclellan was supposed to be a 1-2 round blowout and then......

[SFW]

Bradley-Witter was.......... Oh, whoops. Took a wrong turn there, we're talking bout good fights.

I'd have to say my favorite fight ever, Calzaghe vs Lacy. What a beauty that was, far exceeded my expectations

[dirk2686]

Jamie Moore v Ryan Rhodes. I thought the latter would struggle in a fight that may have been one too many. Never expected a shocker but it ended up a bit of a fight of the year candidate.

[Autobarn]

Eubank v Thompson I. Genuinely thought Eubank was going to get blown away, and he almost won. Given the three or four dramatic staggers he gave Thompson, plus the knockdown, a case could be made for Eubank wining. Although Thompson did outwork him, and took his eye, insuring the rematch stoppage win.

In 1998 I didn’t know Eubank - who seemed an “old”fighter - ould stand up to him, never mind drag Thompson into possibly the best fight ever staged between two British fighters. Never mind fight Thompson in not just one, but two very special battles - a genuine rivalry.

[Autobarn]

Bradley-Witter was.......... Oh, whoops. Took a wrong turn there, we're talking bout good fights.

I'd have to say my favorite fight ever, Calzaghe vs Lacy. What a beauty that was, far exceeded my expectations

from the Calzaghe v Lacy undercard Enzo Maccarinelli v Mark Hobson in their first fight, on paper looked a Maccarinelli blowout. But Hobson dragged him into a British fight of the year candidate - with Macca winning closely over 12- and a brilliant undercard for Calzaghe’s crowning moment.

[Autobarn]

going back, was Benn v Logan supposed to be an easy Benn win?

If not easy, then routine?

What were the expectations at the time, knowing he was stepping up a little?

Because it turned out to be one of the wildest, most out of control, unpredictable fights waged in Britain with one of the best KOs ever, snatched from the jaws of defeat...

Wasn’t expected to be a classic, was it?

[Autobarn]

Lewis v Klitschko. Not much in terms of expectations, but it turned out to be the equivalent of Foreman-Lyle with two awesomely fatigued bigmen trading power shots and with blood instead of knockdowns.

[TheGingerBomber]

Everyone expected Haye and AJ to blow Bellew & Klitschko out the water this year. We got value for money on both nights.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Everyone expected Haye and AJ to blow Bellew & Klitschko out the water this year. We got value for money on both nights.

I didn't expect AJ to blow Klitschko out of the water.. Was a darn good fight though

[tigermoth87]

Coyle Vs Brizuela

I thought it'd be decent. I wasn't expecting what we got.

[leemo99]

bradley Skeete vs Shane Singleton, normally Skeete will try and out box his opponent, keep them at range with the jab, but against Singleton he went for it, and got the result by KO. Was a headline fight, but expected a lot less than I got, very pleasantly surprised

[MarkMcBurney]

A lot of people (not me) were predicting Froch to hammer Groves in the first fight, so from that point of view it turned out FAR better than some expected.

[TheGingerBomber]

Boy Jones vs Craig Poxton, Cunningham vs Bellotti

[jamamb]

pretty sure degale was also widely seen as level above of groves too. ppl not expecting it to be so competetive or groves to win.

[lazboy]

What about Lewis Bruno. Wasn't lewis meant to completely outclass him. Memory says it was competitive.

[SFW]

Bradley-Witter was.......... Oh, whoops. Took a wrong turn there, we're talking bout good fights.

I'd have to say my favorite fight ever, Calzaghe vs Lacy. What a beauty that was, far exceeded my expectations

from the Calzaghe v Lacy undercard Enzo Maccarinelli v Mark Hobson in their first fight, on paper looked a Maccarinelli blowout. But Hobson dragged him into a British fight of the year candidate - with Macca winning closely over 12- and a brilliant undercard for Calzaghe’s crowning moment.

Yes that whole group was bad ass, Enzo, Joe ,Gavin Reese, Gary Lockett, Nathan Cleverly... Enzo Calzaghe taught them well. I have to go back and watch the Mac vs Hobson fight, sounds good.

[gilgamesh]

Lewis v Klitschko. Not much in terms of expectations, but it turned out to be the equivalent of Foreman-Lyle with two awesomely fatigued bigmen trading power shots and with blood instead of knockdowns.

Lewis vs Klitschko took place in Los Angeles, California

[gilgamesh]

Coyle Vs Brizuela

I thought it'd be decent. I wasn't expecting what we got.

That fight was ridiculous! Like 8 knockdowns wasn't it?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

It wasn't a British bout, but Wright/Taylor is always the first fight I think about here.

[gilgamesh]

It wasn't a British bout, but Wright/Taylor is always the first fight I think about here.

That was definitely surprisingly entertaining.

I wasn't looking for Sergio Martinez vs Paul Williams to be as amazing as their first fight was either. I mean I expected it to be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be like it was.

[Matt W]

Frankie Liles vs Tim Littles, undercard to Naz vs Alicea at Newcastle Arena - barnstormer!

[whiskey]

Young Mutley vs Kevin Anderson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkEJSSDm2vQ

[Counter-puncher]

Young Mutley vs Kevin Anderson.

to be fair it looked like a good match and style clash going in but i don't think anyone expected the fireworks we got